Silent Guardian
by Center of the Galaxy
Summary: After following Kagome to her own time against her wishes, Inuyasha sees her with Hojo and reflects on his own desires to be with her.


_**Author's Note: **__I love Inuyasha! This is my first fic for this show and I hope you all enjoy! _

Inuyasha didn't like this situation one bit.

True, he didn't like many things, but this time he was sure that his anger had a good motive behind. Not that he cared if he did, but knowing Kagome she would want a reason for what he was doing. What had she called it the last time she had caught him? "Invading and trampling on my personal privacy and space" or something like that? The truth was that he had to follow her to her own time. He just had to! Kagome was . . . well, she was his duty for one thing. It was his responsibility to protect her and he couldn't do that if he was back in the Feudal Era. Kagome; however, was not happy with him following her and had banned him from seeing her in her own time. So, he didn't see her. He hid in the bushes and watched her—always ready to jump from the shadows and save her when she needed him. Kagome said she didn't like him following her, but he could care less of what Kagome thought. Especially because he didn't like the way this guy was coming onto her.

"Aw Kagome!" He whined, placing a ticket in the girl's hand. "At least think about it! This is the first time you've been in school for a long time. Who knows when I'll see you again?" Inuyasha suppressed a growl as the boy came incredibly close to Kagome's face. Inuyasha could feel her heart beating erratically and he didn't like that. What was thinking at this moment in time? Was she thinking of this boy and how much she cared about him? Or was she thinking of—no. He stopped that thought before it could happen and hurt him more. Why would Kagome be thinking of him? They fought all the time and it seemed like all he could do was hurt her—whether it was directly or not. Why would she even waste a thought on him when all he did was cause her pain?

"Hojo," Kagome whispered. Her voice was like the wind. At times it could be loud and obnoxious, but at times it could be soft and comforting. Inuyasha loved that voice. He loved the way it could command respect one second and then ease a person's worries in the next second. Kikyo used to have the same voice when she alive and he had loved it then as well. It was only natural that Kagome would have it as well.

He had to stop doing that.

Kagome wasn't Kikyo. Kagome was a completely different person with a different scent and different personality. She wasn't the same woman that Inuyasha had loved 50 years. She was . . . Kagome. That's all Inuyasha could come up with to describe her. Kagome was Kagome. She smiled when even when it rained and cried when she felt her friends were in danger. She had a caring personality and always tried to help everyone who came her way. Kagome may be an incarnation of Kikyo, but she was her own person with her own heart and her own desires.

She wasn't nor would she ever be Kikyo.

And Inuyasha wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"So, Kagome," The boy—Hojo—began. "Will you go out with me?"

Inuyasha wanted her to say no. He wanted her to slap him and yell at him for even asking for such a stupid thing. He wanted her to say that she loved another—that she loved him, but he knew that that was selfish of him. Why would Kagome turn down the chance to be with a boy from her own time that cared so much about her? What did Inuyasha himself even have to offer her? He couldn't move on from Kikyo and he was pretty sure that he would never get over her. He loved her—or at least he had at one point in time. Whatever his feelings were, his heart still belonged to her and forcing Kagome to endure that was not fair to her. He had to let go. He had to give Kagome up and let her choose who he wanted to be with.

"Hojo, I—," She stopped and bit her lower lip and Inuyasha wondered why she hesitating. This is what she wanted, right? This Hojo guy could give her everything she could never get from him. She could have a life with him. "I can't."

Inuyasha froze; shock graced Hojo's features.

"You mean you're busy?" Hojo asked with slight disbelief in his voice.

"No," Kagome replied and Inuyasha was able to breathe again. He wasn't sure why he was so relieved exactly, but he also didn't care. She was turning him down! "Hojo, you're nice and everything, but there's someone else."

An awkward pause.

"Oh."

"Yeah . . ." Kagome answered, tucking a strand of her silky black hair behind her ear.

"Well then," Hojo muttered, turning around. "Bye."

And with that, Hojo fled.

Kagome sighed and glanced down at the ground. Inuyasha could tell that there was a wistful look in her eyes, but he wasn't sure why. She had chosen to give that boy up, so why was she sad. There was so much about Kagome that Inuyasha didn't understand. Like the moments when she would look at him like he was the only thing keeping her alive in this world full of fear of Naraku and the other moments when she would cry over nothing. Inuyasha honestly didn't get her. He was lost when it came to Kagome.

"Inuyasha," She said his name like a prayer and he had to pinch himself to prevent himself from going to her. He hated doing this to her. He hated being present in her life here, but not being able to interfere. He was always the silent guardian. The one who stood on the sidelines waiting for the Feudal Era to wreak havoc, but was never able to affect her daily life no matter how much he wanted to.

And he wanted to.

As Kagome began to walk to her house, Inuyasha took to the rooftops. He would always be there to protect her, but he knew that they could never be together. She had her life here without him. A life that she would fully resume when Naraku was defeated and Inuyasha was sure that when she was back in her time in Feudal Era would seem like a far off memory. The faces she met would all be blurs in her mind and she would forget how everyone sounded. Kagome was going to forget him while he knew he would never forget her. Maybe this was his punishment for causing Kikyo's death. Maybe 50 years of being evil had finally caught up to him. Whatever the case, Kagome would be gone from his life soon and he would lose another woman that he cared about.

But for now he would protect her.

Because her smile was the only thing that kept him focused on the seemingly impossible task of defeating Naraku.

_**Author's Note: **__Review please! _


End file.
